The invention relates to a component cabinet for installing structural group carriers and housings of electronic and optoelectronic components and their accessories, having a stand, having side panels, floor panels, ceiling panels, a rear wall and a door, all of which are disposed on the stand, and having a cabinet base.
The invention is used particularly in the field of construction and the operation of local networks in which high cabling densities are required.
Component cabinets for industrial electronics are known in which structural group carriers having electronics and conventional, electrical components, along with their wiring panels, the peripheral wire connection panel, ventilation and other accessories, are protected against dust, water and undesired contact with live parts. Their typical structure comprises a stand being rectangular in plan view, four posts, a ceiling piece and a floor piece in the form of a frame or respectively of four beams. The structural group carriers are secured in the mount. The closed cabinet results from all-around paneling with side and rear walls, a door and ceiling and floor sheets (Dr. Dirk Hesse, Handbuch des 19" Aufbausystems [Handbook of the 19" Component System], 1986, Markt & Technik Verlag, pp. 119-121). The panel parts listed are typically secured directly to the stand. Because the external cabling of the installed electronic components is not extensive, there is no problem with threading the few, relatively thin cable strands and guiding them to the outside through small openings, flaps or special through-openings.
The known component cabinets, with their characteristic structure that makes use of a paneled stand comprising posts and spars, are not suitable for the placement and distribution of large quantities of cable, or for cables with large diameters and therefore of little flexibility. The object, in connection with local area networks (LAN), is fulfilling the requirement of free access of large quantities of cable into the installation region of the electronic components and distribution plates (patch panels). Relatively stiff cables can no longer be threaded once inside the cabinets; nonetheless, to be able to guide them it is necessary to detach or dismount cabinet parts before placement, provided that such a procedure is even possible. The associated problems, time-consuming conditions and drawbacks caused by damage require no further explanations.